For the second year in a row, the number of people on foot who died from motor vehicle crashes remains high. Nearly 6,000 pedestrians were estimated to be killed on U.S. roads in 2017, a figure fundamentally unchanged from 2016; both years represent death tolls not seen in 25 years.

“These high levels are no longer a blip but unfortunately a sustained trend,” Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), said in a statement, calling the findings of a new report “a red flag for all of us in the traffic safety community.”

Pedestrian deaths high for second consecutive year, a new report finds.

(courtesy of the GHSA)

The nonprofit organization, which represents state highway safety offices, released its annual report on pedestrian traffic fatalities on Wednesday. The results were based on the analysis of preliminary data for the first six months of 2017 provided by the highway safety offices in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The report projected that 5,984 pedestrians were killed in 2017. Pedestrians now account for about 16% of all motor vehicle deaths, compared with 11% just a few years ago, the report said, noting that the new figures represent the highest proportion of pedestrian deaths in more than three decades.

“We can’t afford to let this be the new normal,” Adkins added, noting the lack of progress in the country to reduce deaths.

The report also explored potential factors that may have contributed to the increase in fatalities, including state legalization of recreational marijuana and the growth in smartphone use. The report emphasized that while there is no confirmed link between the two recent trends and the spike in pedestrian deaths, “it is widely accepted both smartphones and marijuana can impair the attention and judgment necessary to navigate roadways safely behind the wheel and on foot.”

The reported number of smartphones in active use in the U.S. increased (236% from 2010 to 2016) as have the number of cell-phone related emergency room visits, according to the study. And the seven states and D.C. that legalized recreational marijuana use between 2012 and 2016 experienced a collective 16.4% increase in pedestrian fatalities for the first half of 2017, while all other states saw a combined 5.8% decrease.

“This preliminary 2017 data is the first opportunity to look at marijuana-impairment as a possible contributing factor in pedestrian deaths, given the recent law changes,” Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting and author of the report, said in a statement. “It’s critical to use this early data to look for potential warning signs.”

The report also included specific examples of strategies used by some states aimed to reduce pedestrian and motor vehicle collisions.

For more safety information and to read the full report, click here and here.